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USS IWO JIMA, At Sea – For four months, a Marine Assault Amphibious Vehicle company ventured along the Caribbean, Central and South America to participate in subject matter expert exchanges with partner nations and to assist a Navy-led operation which brought humanitarian-civic assistance to partner nations during the summer and fall of 2010.
Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Continuing Promise 2010 launched July 14, 2010, to support this year’s Operation Continuing Promise, which is an ongoing Navy effort dedicated to bringing medical, dental and engineering assistance to different countries along the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility.
Special-Purpose MAGTF CP10 was comprised of approximately 500 Marines and sailors who embarked on the USS Iwo Jima.
The Ground Combat Element or GCE included approximately 150 Marines and sailors from Company A, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. They were led by Capt. Lynn W. Berendsen, the company commander of Company A, 2nd AA BN.
“Assault Amphibious Vehicle companies are well suited for the role of the ground combat element when supporting Special Purpose for several reasons,” said Berendsen. “The AAV is one of the corner stones of the Marine Corps amphibious assault capabilities and a great asset to bring to countries to show off the capabilities of this awesome vehicle.”
Over the course of their four-month deployment along the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility, the GCE carried out five different subject-matter expert exchanges with partner nations in the region and played a crucial role for the CP10 mission in Haiti.
In Haiti, the GCE’s primary role was to provide security for Haitian citizens and CP10 personnel operating at different humanitarian sites during the mission’s 10-day visit. The GCE managed thousands of Haitian citizens outside the medical sites and provided a safe and controlled environment for Army, Navy, Air Force, international and civilian medical personnel to carry out their mission.
“Without the Marines in Haiti, it’s safe to say we would not have been able to accomplish our mission there,” said Cmdr. Cyrus N. Rad, a CP10 medical site leader. “They kept order outside the medical sites and allowed Haitian citizens to receive proper care.”
Following Haiti, CP10 steamed toward Colombia, where the GCE participated in its first of five SMEEs.
In Colombia, the GCE trained with Colombian Marines at their School of Infantry equivalent in Covenas, Colombia. There, they deployed four AAVs to give Colombian Marines familiarization on amphibious landings, while at the same time honing their own skills with their AAVs, or as they proudly refer to as, “Tracks.”
“It is difficult to find training opportunities with the Navy’s amphibious ships,” said Berendsen. “Participating in a Special-Purpose MAGTF like this one offers AAV Marines the opportunity to practice amphibious assaults with the navy, sharpening skills we have gotten away from during the war on terror.”
While in Colombia, the GCE also also gained familiarization on counter-gorilla tactics from the Colombian Marines, who have been at war with drug cartels operating in the Colombian jungles for over four decades.
After carrying out a 10-day SMEE with Colombian Marines, the GCE moved on to conduct similar SMEEs in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Suriname.
In Costa Rica, the GCE worked with members of the Costa Rican Public Defense Force and Coast Guard at a remote base in the Pacific Coast of the country called “El Murcielago.”
There, the Marines learned how to conduct seaborne drug interdictions by Costa Rican coastguardsmen and police officers while exchanging instruction on first-aid, patrolling and land navigation.
After Costa Rica, the GCE deployed to the jungles of Guatemala, where they worked with Guatemalan army special forces soldiers or Kaibiles, and participated in an abbreviated version of their arduous Kaibil qualification course in Poptun, Guatemala.
The Marines completed the Kaibil swim qualification course, learned counter-guerilla doctrine, overcame an obstacle and confidence course, learned land navigation in jungle-terrain, knot tying, moving vehicle exits, maneuvering in company-sized jungle patrols and reacting to ambushes.
Then in Nicaragua, the GCE sent one staff non-commissioned officer and seven NCOs to teach Nicaraguan sailors and six soon-to-be Nicaraguan Marine Corps corporals at Naval Base El Bluff on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua.
During their last SMEE in Suriname, the GCE worked with Suriname army soldiers to gain familiarization on conducting operations in jungle terrain along with basic jungle survival, while teaching them the employment of non-lethal weapons and riot-control techniques, land navigation, martial arts and small unit leadership.
Aside from participating in SMEEs in the aforementioned countries, the GCE also contributed heavily to CP10’s medical efforts in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama by sending out 26 Spanish-speaking Marines to assist English speaking medical personnel operating at different medical sites in those countries.
“The GCE performed superbly throughout Continuing Promise 2010,” said Capt. Thomas W. Negus, the commodore of CP10. “They enhanced the mission through their professionalism, Marine Corps enthusiasm and willingness to provide support in innovative ways. They kept uncertain situations organized and stood-by as a tremendous contingency capability during a humanitarian assistance disaster relief operation.”
| Date Taken: | 11.05.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2010 15:38 |
| Story ID: | 60351 |
| Location: | USS IWO JIMA, AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, 2nd AA BN tackles four-month Humanitarian-Civic Assistance Mission, visits 8 countries, conducts 5 SMEES, by Cpl Daniel Negrete, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
